Week 8 Preview: Notre Dame vs. Navy

Notre Dame (6-1, 10^th ranked) will look to get back on track tomorrow night when they travel to Landover, Maryland to take on the Navy Midshipmen (4-4) at FedEx Field. After the tough loss at Florida State, the Fighting Irish have had plenty of time to move on and get ready for Navy following a bye week. This week, the Irish also learned where they stand initially in the new college football rankings by being slotted at number ten. Despite the lower than expected ranking, Notre Dame’s mission remains the same. If the Irish win their final five games, they should find themselves right in the thick of things at the end of the year. With many teams ranked inside the top 15 playing each other over the next month or so, the Irish have an opportunity to rise in the polls if they keep winning. Will the Midshipmen end Notre Dame’s playoff hopes, or will the Irish take care of business and keep the dream alive?

Notre Dame’s offense will have to be efficient because they don’t know how many times they will possess the ball with Navy’s ball control offense. Depending on how successful Navy’s rushing attack is, the Irish might only have 6-8 possession for the entire game, so scoring on every possession is ideal. The good news is that Navy’s defense isn’t particularly strong considering they have allowed 411.5 yards per game and 27.6 points per game, both ranking 75^th in the country. Furthermore, the Midshipmen are equally below average against the run and pass, checking in at 75^th (170.9 yards per game) and 73^rd (240.6 yards per game) respectively. Given that, it would be safe to assume the Irish should have no trouble moving the ball and scoring plenty of points. Of course, the main issue has been the turnovers committed by mainly Everett Golson, so ball security will be critical in game where every possession is valuable. Since Brian Kelly knows that they need to be efficient on offense, look for him to call plenty of high percentage passing plays. I expect the Irish to run the ball very well with Tarean Folston leading the way after two impressive weeks in a row, and we should see a ton of short and intermediate passing routes. Don’t get me wrong, Brian Kelly will take a few shots down the field, but Notre Dame doesn’t need a bunch of deep passes to win. If Golson can get the ball out of his hands quickly to his talented wide receivers, then they should be able to get a ton of yards after the catch with their speed and athleticism. Overall, it should be a comfortable day for the Irish on offense.

When Navy’s offense lines up against Notre Dame’s defense we all know what to expect. The Midshipmen run the triple option probably about 90 percent of the time, so it will be all about discipline and assignments for the Irish defense. The first read in the triple option is the fullback dive, so Notre Dame’s inside linebackers Jaylon Smith and Joe Schmidt will need to read the play immediately and tackle the fullback close to the line of scrimmage. If the option extends to either edge of the defense, containment and proper assignments is the key to stopping Navy. There isn’t a whole lot to break down with Navy’s offense, since they run the same play all game long, but the Irish still need to be aware of the pass when it does occur. Navy loves to run it until the secondary is cheating and selling out on the run, and then that’s when they will hit the defense over the top with a pass. The best way to stop Navy’s offense is to hold them on first and second down to little or no gain and force an obvious pass on third down. That will allow Notre Dame’s defense to make a play and create a key turnover which would kill Navy’s chance at staying in the game. Navy is not built to come from behind, so if Notre Dame can get a few stops early on, it’ll be a long day for Navy on offense.

Navy will have some success early offensively, but Notre Dame’s offense scores early and often which makes it too hard for the Midshipmen to keep up.

Prediction: Notre Dame 38, Navy 14

Twitter: @etichel07